• Last updated 2/16/10 by litalia

Why are some olive oils green and others yellowish? What does color indicate? The different colors of the oils depend on the variety, climate, irradiation of the tree, and principally on the date that they are harvested. The color indicates how ripe the olive is, but only the experts can decipher this to decide when to begin the harvest. Why is some olive oil peppery and other mild, and what does it mean? The peppery quality depends on how ripe the fruit is; olives which are not overripe have intense aromas and as a consequence are spicy. On the contrary, olives that... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by pbrown

Dateline: May 1, 2001, Eugene, Oregon SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE - PART THREE - COSTA RICA Chef Patrick & Arnoldo Levia cupping in Costa RicaI arrived in Costa Rica in October just as the coffee cherries were beginning to ripen in the mountains near San Jose. I had missed an International Coffee Buyer Convention in the city by a couple of days and read with interest the news about the anticipated Costa Rica coffee harvest. Predictions were for a good harvest but low coffee prices again this year. Having previously spent two months in Costa Rica, I... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by hbrody

Although it was in 1926 that A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh exclaimed "& the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey. And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it," humans for as many as 10,000 years have been wondering why a bee makes honey. No less a thinker than Aristotle seemed equally bemused and puzzled at the bee's handiwork. "One cannot well tell what is the substance (the bees) gather," he said, "nor the exact progress of their work." To metaphorically dispose of this imponderable question, honey has been romanticized by poets and... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by JackBlack

The olive is a truly amazing food; there's no question about it. The age, history and uses of this fruit are so magnificent they almost seem inconceivable and made-up, like a myth. It's been around forever, well almost-olive oil and its seemingly miraculous qualities have been appreciated since the birth of western civilization, especially in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. Cultivation of the olive tree is said to have started more than 5000 years ago and it was an olive leaf that a dove brought to Noah, indicating there was dry land ahead. What's even more... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by mhall

As the year 2000 approaches us, we prepare for one of the most amazing times for chefs. We have entered through doorways to meet some of the greatest minds and pioneers of our day, bringing us newer technology to provide food for our culture. Yet we also stand at the threshold of some of the greatest problems ever. We walk into the year 2000 with a new ray of hope and a Pandora's box of troubles. The ever-growing legions of chefs that are now entering the food service industry are presented with one of the most distinctive problems approaching us today. As the earth's... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by JackBlack

The Fungus Among UsMushrooms are a unique and peculiar food, and they're also somewhat of a paradox. Most are edible and delicious, but a few others are toxic and can make you ill or even cause your demise, and some are also hallucinogenic. They're the type of food that people often obsess over-to some, they are one of the most delicious foods available, yet to others they are slightly scary and grotesque, not worthy of consumption. Though most often thought of as a vegetable, mushrooms are actually a form of fungus-they have no seeds, stems or flowers, and reproduce... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by litalia

All extra-virgin olive oils are basically the same. Just because the bottle reads "extra virgin" does not mean that the oil is made from quality olives, or that the olives used weren't bruised, oxidized, olive fly-infested, or overripe. In fact, it is possible for an olive oil to be made from low quality olives but still achieve the "extra virgin" requirements through chemical processing. However, these oils will always be found out by their oily, fatty, bruised apple-like taste and their processed aroma. Every single one of Lucini's olives is hand-picked and pressed... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by dbirkle

Nutmeg is the seed of the Myristica fragrans, a tropical, dioecious evergreen tree native to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia. Nutmeg has a distinctive, pungent fragrance and a warm, slightly sweet taste; it is used to flavor many kinds of baked goods, confections, puddings, meats, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and beverages such as eggnog. Grated nutmeg has been used as a sachet; the Romans used it as incense. Around 1600 it became important as an expensive commercial spice of the Western world. It was the subject of Dutch plots to keep prices high, and of... read more

• Last updated 2/18/10 by Cristina7

Author: litalia A DEFINITION: "Extra Virgin" is any olive oil that is less than 1% acidity, produced by the first pressing of the olive fruit. Most olive oils today are extra virgin in name only, meeting only the minimum requirement. Extra virgin is a chemical requirement that does not indicate either quality or taste. QUALITY: With an impressively low acidity level of 0.225%, Lucini has a level of quality that can only be achieved one way -- through hand harvesting and pressing within 24 hours. The premium flavor reflects the expert touch of our master cultivator:... read more

• Last updated 2/16/10 by mhall

I would like to begin this article by saying that in the past 12 years of managing employees of various kitchens that managing union kitchens has made me a better manager of people. I have no doubt that some of our readers are currently managing kitchens that are unionized and have found it to be the most difficult experience that they have ever had. I can most certainly agree with them. But as I have been gaining more experience in this area I can offer my advice and share some of the tools that have helped me grow. In the early years of the development of the... read more